The Rangers career of Danilo has been defined by moments of misfortune. That does not mean, though, that his time at Ibrox should be condemned and written off in football or financial terms.

The shuddering head knock that made all observers grimace and that left the Brazilian with broken bones in his face was a freak injury that can be put down to bad luck. The twist and fall that damaged his knee ligaments can be placed into that same category. Danilo may feel that he has been jinxed at Ibrox, but the injury curse need not hang over him forever.

Danilo slipped during a training session at Auchenhowie last Monday and felt pain in the same knee that he had spent seven months working on through a gruelling rehabilitation schedule. Within days, he was back in the gym. By the end of the week, he was heading to Holland for further assessment and a programme to strengthen the knee that required him to go under the knife late last year.

That operation itself was not as initially expected and work was undertaken to repair the bone during what Danilo described to the Rangers Review as a ‘huge surgery’. Procedures of that nature can come with snags at any stage of the recovery. Just a couple of months into the season, that is the situation that Danilo finds himself in.

He did not make it off the bench during the Old Firm defeat to Celtic before the international break and his status will be one of the points that Philippe Clement addresses when he speaks on Friday ahead of the Premiership fixture with Dundee United. Once again, Clement has a list of walking wounded but the reasons for each absence are unique to the individual and Danilo’s case - like it was in the aftermath of those incidents at McDiarmid Park and Tynecastle - must be assessed on its own merits.

Danilo was spotted at Glasgow airport wearing a brace on his leg. It was a precautionary measure for the flight home but a move that was always likely to provoke conjecture and conversation.

The striker posed for photographs with supporters, well aware that the pictures would not tell the 1000 words that he wished. This was not the end of his campaign. It will not be the end of his Rangers career. A return to first-team action within four weeks is the target but that will not include continental football after he was omitted from Clement’s squad for the Europa League.

His underlying numbers, as shown below, were impressive in a small sample size. Danilo's xG, touches in the opposition box and number of shots per 90 were extremely high. Even if a few chances were missed, a propensity to get into good areas is clear.

Danilo's 2023/24 Scottish Premiership radar (Image: StatsBomb)

Any player who has missed as much football as Danilo is always at risk of being classed as injury-prone, especially given the issues that Rangers have had in that regard in recent seasons. The situation with Danilo is different, though. The two career-changing setbacks that he has suffered are not as a result of a physical weakness or a long-running, inherent problem. His unavailability should, therefore, not see him grouped with so many of those who have spent large swathes of their Rangers careers in the treatment room and the stands.

Danilo is a player that Rangers need to succeed for the good of their silverware aspirations and their balance sheet, one that supporters would like to see succeed on a personal and professional level. A return of six goals and five assists from 21 appearances last term is caveated by circumstances. Right now, Rangers don’t really know how good Danilo was, how good he is or how good he can be.

“They have seen that I will always try to bring everything I can on the field and I want to help the team as much as possible with the goals,” Danilo told the Rangers Review as he sat down at the training camp in Holland for his first media interview since returning to Philippe Clement’s squad.

Danilo underperformed his xG in a small sample size last season (Image: StatsBomb)

“Last year was not my year. I had some good numbers and some goals and assists but I think now I know everybody in the building and there are fresh players. I will do my best to score as many goals as possible and hopefully not have bad luck with the injuries.

“I want to help the boys as much as possible and contribute to be part of this squad. It is important that we stick together and work hard as much as we can and bring as many victories as well. That is my message to the Rangers fans. I will do more than 120 per cent of myself. I want to score as many goals as possible and I will do my best to make that happen.”

In a wide-ranging exclusive interview, Danilo detailed his use of a sports psychologist to help him recover from the injuries that interrupted and then ended his first term at Ibrox following a £6million move from Feyenoord. He also spoke of the importance of his support network at home and at work and how his faith helped him through the darkest times as he sought to become the best version of himself as a player and a person.

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The shattered cheekbone was easier to come to terms with mentally and easier to overcome physically than the ligament damage on his right knee. Danilo had to learn to walk again, yet there were days when the small steps forward were followed by two back. Those moments will provide perspective during this latest setback as he seeks the best advice available to ensure there are no longer lasting complications with an injury that is inherently convoluted.

His progress has been a well-discussed topic in recent months. Clement was repeatedly asked about his inclusion before he granted Danilo a start in the League Cup win over St Johnstone. The following week, the striker came off the bench and scored – a goal he ‘didn’t have the words to describe how special it was’ - as Rangers beat Ross County at Hampden.

Events four days before that Saints fixture had added another twist in the tale. A video clip of Danilo hobbling out of the Hampden tunnel was the catalyst for supposition amongst supporters as they feared the forward was nowhere near ready for action.

The forward's minutes were limited last season (Image: StatsBomb)

"Dani always had that kind of walk, look from the moment he came in,” Clement said when asked about the video, which was posted by the club on social media, following the Champions League defeat to Dynamo Kyiv. "I have been watching him a long time. I wanted to get him to [Club] Brugges when he was at Ajax. When he was not playing there and he had that walk also. No one needs to worry about that.

"There's nothing going on with him, today I wanted to put him in that was the idea then circumstances of the game were not there. People will see in the next couple of weeks that they don't need to worry about him.

"He's had seven months out, so you need time to gain match fitness and then at the right moments to get these minutes. It also depends on the scenarios of the game."

That will be the case when Danilo returns for a third time. Clement is fortunate that in Cyriel Dessers he has a striker who is robust enough to get through the required minutes and lead the line. That has eased some of the pressure on Danilo’s shoulders and there will be an expectation that Hamza Igamane takes his share of the responsibility now that he has made his long-awaited debut.

Clement will continue to be patient with Danilo. There will come a time this term when the former Brazilian youth international - who idolised Ronaldo and Romario as a child and who uses Gabriel Jesus as inspiration for his own game - will need to deliver in front of goal. Rangers need a return given what has been invested in terms of time and money into Danilo and the fans who serenade him to the tune of ‘She’s Electric’ need a reason to keep classing him as brilliant.

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When Danilo was asked about his relationship with the Ibrox crowd and those that support on the road by the Rangers Review, he spoke passionately about what it meant to him following his move to Glasgow. Those that backed him before and after his two periods on the sidelines shouldn’t start to doubt him in the face of a far more minor adversity.

“I am really thankful to be honest for all the support,” Danilo told the Rangers Review. “In the difficult moments that happened, they showed so much love and showed much caring. I want to give it back because they deserve it for how much trust and love they give to me.

"I want to carry on with this love and that is what I keep in my heart. When I go up to them, it is like ‘you guys deserve my best effort and everything I can bring to the field’. I would love them to keep the support and I know that things will be alright.”

The physical scars continue to heal for Danilo. The mental ones were the deepest on the first two occasions and that fortitude will drive him on during this latest period of recovery.

He has had his bad times and now he will hope the good ones arrive sooner rather than later. Danilo won’t write himself off at Ibrox. Only he can prove that his doubters are wrong to do so right now.